More lion dance

Iris is definitely saying more words. We just can't always figure out whether she's speaking in Chinese or English. Her sounds are very clear, but we can't always guess from context. After the Lunar New Year parade and a recent birthday party, Iris will never forget the lion dance, which is what she says a lot this week. There was a half hour lion dance at the celebration of two Chinese twin boys. Their dad (Mama's high school classmate) choreographed it all. It was fabulous and memorable. Take a look:


As for Iris's development, there is practicing going on for sure; not just of words and sounds, but also actions. For example, she has practiced and practiced buttoning a couple of sweaters, so that she can button her sweater fairly well. She can almost zip up her jacket on her own, too. With her near obsession with shoes, it's no big surprise that she can buckle a velcro strap. This means threading the strap through the metal ring, pulling and sticking the velcro together.

One day on the playground, she wanted to climb up a metal curved ladder to get up to the top of a play structure. With Mama ready to catch her fall, she went over and over again, until she was getting the idea of using feet and hands as she stepped on each rung. She likes being outside. We've had a "picnic" at snack time in front of the house. She seems to like the job of pulling weeds, too. She's starting to be a monkey of sorts-repeating words, wanting whatever we're doing or eating. It's fascinating how the learning process is for a toddler!

We love the fact that she still puts things back (most of the time) as a possible sign of being an organizer. It would be nice if she realized how her toys need to go back in their proper places, too. All in all, she's a fearless and fun girl. Potty training continues as we wrestle with how much to push and what to try next. She's already wanting to wear panties, but won't consistently tell us when she needs to pee or poop. Lovely talk, right? Please pray for energy and gentleness as we continue to teach our dear Iris about God's creation and the world around us.

Aren't these lion heads beautiful? Gong shi to friends, Jeff and Melvina, on their twin boys' first birthday!